A Daughter of Day (HIATUS)
by xxTheTruMan196
Summary: After Lydia Elton lost her father to monsters, she's lived at a military academy known as Westover Hall, becoming friends with other parentless classmates like Grover, Bianca and Nico. However when a series of events bring her into the world of Greek Mythology, her life is changed forever. What's even more shocking is just how powerful her godly parent, truly is...
1. Grover's New Friends Are Weird

**Author's Note:** _Hello dear readers! This is going to be the start of a new story that goes throughout the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and through the Heroes of Olympus! As you can see this is including an OC character, who's story starts off in the Titan's Curse, the 3rd novel of P.J.A.T.O. Hope you all enjoy!_

 **[P.S.]** _Many of you guys might be avid readers of the Shaniverse (the universe I've created and write all my stories about), but this is a completely different setting. This isn't incorporated into the Shaniverse... or maybe it is? Maybe, maybe not, we'll see... Haha_ _I'm evil._

 **[Double P.S.]** _There is going to be the slow inclusion of one well known character in a modern franchise today, that also has a way of tying into Greek Mythology... and is also a Daughter of Zeus... :OOO_

* * *

 **Lydia POV...**

Let's be honest for a moment here: being a demigod absolutely sucks.

I don't care who you are, or what you enjoy, this is just the truth. Whatever thoughts you have about how cool it would be to be a part of your favorite fantasy world, like Harry Potter or Superhero comic books, you can drop that fantasy right now. Because actually living it, with all the battles and drama and intense heart stopping moments, is not worth the fun fantasy. And as it so happens, my real life fantasy is being a demigod, the daughter of one of the Greek deities from the myths.

Yeah, they aren't myths at all, they're actually true! And apparently some goddess decided to get all happy and lovely with my dad, and here I am.

My name is Lydia Elton.

I'm sixteen years old, and until a few months ago I was living a fairly decent life with my dad in the suburbs of New York City. We weren't too over the top, being the only two of the family, as my mother left a long time ago, which I'm still saddened about. Whenever I ask my dad about her though, he seemed to have only positive comments, though I sometimes got the feeling there was more he hid about her. Well, doesn't matter anymore.

He's dead now.

One night, two large guys broke into our house, and tried to kill us with ridiculously large knives. My dad managed to defend us, having previously been in the military, and I tried to help, as he'd taught me some combat skills. However he made me run, and I was struck with terror when seeing that the men only seemed to have one eye. They gutted him, and then turned to me. Before they could do anything though, the police arrived, our neighbors probably having heard the commotion and called, and the two guys bolted while the cops gave chase.

I had been a complete train wreck losing my dad, and I tried giving an account of what the guys were like, but they didn't believe me when I mentioned them having only one eye.

To be fair, who would?

I was then sent off to Westover Hall, which was a boarding/military school for kids. Since my dad used to be in the military this is probably why I'd been sent here, but the place seemed dreadful and depressing. It was like something you'd find out of a halloween, vampire styled castle, all black stone with towers and slit windows. On one side it overlooked a large snowy cliff and forest, and on the other a raging ocean. So my life felt pretty crappy during those few months, although other people probably wouldn't know that.

Despite having dyslexia, a small case of ADHD, and not having too many friends, I was actually a rather nice and gentle person, even after my dad was killed. Being a naturally beautiful person had to have helped as well, given my golden hair, tanned skin, and deep, sky blue eyes. My tanned skin came from my enjoyment of being in the sunlight, as it always felt warm and gentle on my skin.

Anyways, life eventually wasn't too bad, as I had managed to make three friends this last month at Westover Hall, namely Bianca di Angelo, her younger brother Nico, and Grover Underwood. They were all cool, although Grover did seem to be a bit of a klutz at times, and had a beard. We all had one thing in common though, which was having no parents. However, a lack of parents did not really gain any sympathy from the teachers and staff here at Westover Hall, particularly from Dr. Thorn.

I really hate that guy.

Mostly because he always seems to be out for blood. He'll always find something to blame on the four of us, although me and Grover especially, probably because Bianca and Nico were younger. And I honestly did not like the way he was staring at us in the middle of the dance party currently happening. Seeing as I was the oldest of the four of us, and Grover wasn't anywhere I could see currently, I decided to stay with Nico and Bianca, because Dr. Thorn just seemed... weirder tonight.

"They're my cards Bianca!" Nico exclaims.

"We're in the middle of a party, you should at least try and interact with someone," his sister replies sternly.

I sighed, rolling my eyes in exasperation. These two always had something to argue about, but it was all in good fun... and by that I mean they don't hate each other afterwards.

"I am interacting with someone. You!" Nico states smugly, shuffling his cards.

Bianca sighed, her green cap seeming to cover her face even more. "You know that's not what I meant Nico," she replies.

"WellI don't see you doing anything," he retorts.

"That's because I want to make sure you are doing something first," she shoots back.

During their argument, I notice Grover had walked in with three other kids, a boy and two girls and frowned. The boy seemed about fourteen at the most, with black hair. The older girl also had black hair, but short and spiky, matching her punk style getup. And the last girl was blonde, her gaze seemingly sparkling with intelligence. They all seemed in a serious mode, but obviously knew each other well.

But those three didn't go to this school.

I gave Dr. Thorn another wary glance, but he was still in the same position, and seemed to be giving someone else the stink eye and a cold nod. I scooted over closer to the di Angelo's.

"Well, speaking of interacting, I'm gonna go do just that!" I announce with a smile. "You guys gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. I'll try and get Nico on his feet for once," Bianca replies.

"Hey!" Nico says with an indignant frown.

Laughing lightly to myself, I got up and headed over to Grover and his little friend group, the two siblings continuing their bickering as I headed away. As I got closer, I managed to catch a bit of their conversation.

"Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?" punk girl asks, making a face.

Grover looked hurt, and I couldn't help but snicker at his expression. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?" punk girl asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Green who?" Grover questions, and I roll my eyes.

"Never mind. Lets dance."

"But I can't dance!"

I decide to interject on the conversation at that moment, a grin on my face. "Offer is still on the table if you want to learn though!" I exclaim cheerily by Grover's side. He yelps in surprise, and the three kids immediately tense up before forcing themselves to relax.

"Lydia! Why- don't do that!" he stammers indignantly.

"Come on, it's funny," I retort with a grin.

He sulked while I continued to smile, glancing at the others. "I see you got some new friends," I remark.

"Uh, yep," he says quickly, although it was tense, making me curious and confused.

"So, who are you guys? I don't think you go to school here," I comment, hoping for some light conversation.

"Uhh-" Grover starts to say, before punk girl interrupts.

She does something weird, and raises a hand and snapped her fingers, making me blink in surprise. I feel some sort of breeze blow out, narrowing my eyes in confusion and glancing around for a brief second, which the girl doesn't take notice of.

"We are you classmates though Lydia. Remember? I'm Thalia, that's Percy and Annabeth," she states, like it was fact.

Grover now looks extremely nervous and alarmed, and I begin to get suspicious of the three. The other two act completely normal, like what she just did wasn't dumb at all. I give Thalia a wary look.

"Uh, no you're not," I state dryly, and the three kids blink in surprise while Grover glances between us nervously.

"Yes we are," Thalia insists.

"No you're not!" I retort with a frown. "Seriously, if you wanted to pretend to be a magician, that's not how you do it."

She glances at the other two kids, both of who are looking uneasy, but I continue on.

"Also what- what is this?" I ask sarcastically, snapping my fingers. "What's the snapping for? You trying to be some sort of Harry Potter character or something?"

"It's nothing, she just likes to be dramatic," the blonde girl, Annabeth says. "But we do go to school here, you probably just haven't noticed us."

"Nope, not buying it," I say in denial, shaking my head.

"Heeey Lydia, what are Bianca and Nico up to?" Grover interrupts, trying to throw me a charming smile. I frown at him but shrug, deciding to ignore his weird friends by now. They were probably trying to sneak around in an attempt to be cool without getting caught.

"Well, Bianca's been trying to get Nico off his butt and actually do something besides his card game," I tell him, glancing over my shoulder. "It's a little weird though, because Dr. Thorn keeps glaring at us."

"Why would he be glaring at you?" the boy Percy asks, finally speaking.

"He hates our guts?" I offer dryly with a shrug. "I'm surprised he hasn't had you thrown out yet. He has the eyes of a hawk."

"Uh huh, sure does," Grover comments nervously, chewing on his shirt.

"Grover stop chewing on your shirt," I scold him gently. "You do that all the time when you're nervous!"

"Sorry," he apologizes, immediately stopping.

"You do do that a lot," Percy comments, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, it's a habit!" he exclaims in protest, although it sounds a little bit like he was bleating.

"Oh, so you know him pretty well too?" I ask Percy.

"Yeah, we go way back actually. He used to be at my school before he was transferred," he replies.

"You never told me that," I tell Grover.

"Guess it... never came up?" he replies sheepishly.

I roll my eyes, before getting another glance at Percy, noting how similar he looked to someone I saw before. Then it clicks in my head, and I furrow my brow thoughtfully.

"Hey... aren't you the kid from national television?" I ask him.

"What?" Thalia asks in confusion, although I don't fail to miss how the rest of the group look more cautious.

"N-National TV? What do you mean?" he asks nervously.

"You know, a little over a year ago? Police thought he was some sort of terrorist or something, until he fought that large punk guy," I say, looking at him suspiciously. "You look awfully alike."

"Coincidence maybe?" he suggests meekly.

"There's probably a lot of kids who look like seaweed brain here," Annabeth interjects.

"Yeah, I doubt it was him," Thalia adds.

I look around at them with narrow eyes, letting my gaze linger on Grover for a few seconds longer, causing him to squirm a little bit. I know him to well, and his behavior is all I need to see to know that something is not being told.

"I guess so," I finally say with a shrug. "Although funny thing is, I could've sworn the kid and that guy were fighting with swords."

They all tense up in surprise and nervousness when I say that, meaning something was definitely up.

"Swords?!" Thalia asks in bewilderment.

"Who uses swords these days?" Percy adds.

"Yeah, looked like something out of a Greek fantasy film to be honest," I add, turning to walk away. "Well I'm gonna go see if the others are actually doing something now. The offer for dance lessons is still up Grover!"

"Uhh- uh yeah, yeah sure!" he replies meekly.

I raise an eyebrow at his weird behavior but shrug it off. Giving the rest of his new group of friends one last look, I move away to do more stuff around the gym.

* * *

 **3rd person POV...**

"Ok Grover, who was that?" Thalia demands.

"Is she able to see through the Mist?" Annabeth questions thoughtfully. "She's obviously unaffected by Thalia's snapping trick, and it also seems like she saw Percy fighting Ares for real, not what regular mortals saw."

"Wait, you fought Ares?" Thalia asks, raising an eyebrow at Percy.

"Well... yeah I did. Have I not told you about that yet?" he replies.

"Tell me later," she says, rounding back on Grover. "Spill it goat boy."

"Ok ok!" he says quickly, raising his hands placatingly. "Remember how I said there were three demigods here? She's one of them."

"Oh. Well that makes sense," Percy says dumbly.

"Why didn't you tell us her name earlier?" Thalia asks.

"I was going too, but then Dr. Thorn showed up," he explains.

"What about her parentage?" Annabeth asks.

"I don't know hers either, but she's very strong," Grover says, and the three could tell he was a little shook when saying that.

"How strong?" Percy asks.

Grover twiddles his thumbs nervously, glancing around before telling them, his voice low and quiet.

"Well, during the day time especially... maybe as strong as you two," he states, gesturing towards Percy and Thalia.

"What? How is that possible?" Thalia demands.

"I don't see how you could trump a demigod child of the 'Big Three,'" Percy adds sarcastically.

"You said she's stronger during the day?" Annabeth asks, and at his nod she continues. "I would assume a child of Apollo, but his children aren't strong like you're saying."

"Well that's how she is," he says. "Dr. Thorn really doesn't like her, even less than me! Probably hates her the most out of the whole school!"

"Sounds like Mrs. Dodds," Percy comments.

"Well for now, let's do what we originally planned on doing: act natural, mingle, dance around," Annabeth says.

"But... I-" Grover starts nervously.

"Alright, I'm gonna take a page out of this 'Lydia' girl's book, and help teach you to dance," Thalia declares. "Come on goat boy!"

Grover lets out a yelp as Thalia grabs his hand and leads him over to the dance floor. Percy glances around the gym and observes all of the kids dancing or hanging out, noticing Lydia within the mix as well, talking with some other friends. He also notes how she stayed closer to where the di Angelo siblings were, but then notices Annabeth smiling at him.

"What?" he asks.

"Nothing, it's just cool to have Thalia back..."

* * *

 **Lydia POV...**

Honestly, I don't know why I go to dances like this sometimes. Probably because the teachers pretty much demand it of us, and also probably because of my politeness and good nature glowing like a ray of sunshine. Speaking of sunshine, I've always loved the daytime, while nighttime I do not really enjoy at all. Maybe it's because of my fear of the dark, or how I just get uncomfortable when out in the night, I don't know. Point is, daytime is much cooler and more enjoyable than nighttime for me.

I'm not a bat.

"Oh my gosh, grow up already," I tell Jackson, one of my classmates.

"You grow up!" he retorts, and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah yeah," I say in exasperation, waving a hand dismissively.

I start to leave the group, more interested in hanging out with Bianca and Nico again. However upon looking at where they were before, I falter in my steps in alarm, seeing that they were gone. Not in the 'nothing-to-worry-about' way, as I could tell something bad happened. Bianca's cap is laying on the ground, as well as Nico's trading cards, which are scattered around the cap.

Looking around in concern, I widen my eyes in worry and confusion upon seeing Dr. Thorn moving Bianca and Nico along, more forcing really. He was steering them away like kittens, and I could see their nervousness and confusion, which was slowly turning to panic the longer he shoved them towards the exit. What is he doing?!

Something else then gets my attention, and I notice how one of Grover's new friends, Percy, is heading swiftly in the same direction as Dr. Thorn, Bianca and Nico. He rips a golden pen out of his pocket along the way.

I don't know what is going on, but I am definitely going to be a part of this. I can't help but get the feeling that Bianca and Nico are both in danger, and something big was about to happen.

Forgetting the party, I rush after the people and exit the gym.

* * *

 _Here's the starting chapter! Anyone interested, hopefully? :O_

 _Speaking of the term 'hopefully,' I'm hoping I can update plenty of chapters on this story too, because I have a whole set of ideas planned in my head for this! Maybe I can make you all wonder about who Lydia's godly parent could possibly be? :P_


	2. Dr Thorn Is a Talking Lion

**[ REVIEWS ]**

 **Shaniverse fan1:** _Glad to year you're interested! I'm still debating on it, but who knows? ;)_

 **Anbu69:** _Yeah, it'll have to remain a mystery for now... ;)_

 **animea846:** _I don't currently have any plans of a relationship, or whether or not it would be with an existing character or an OC, but that could change in the future. :O_

 **DarkWolfz397:** _Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a fan of those types of relationships. Nothing personal, but I don't like them. :/_

 **gruntsbreeder:** _Glad to hear it!_

 **Guest:** _Yeah I see what you mean, but don't worry I have a plan for it! It's not my intention to create a "Mary Sue" or "perfect" character._

 **Alex Blackclaw:** _Plenty of different deities to choose from..._

 **Chitsuki-Tokiwa:** _Maybe... maybe... ;)_

* * *

 **Lydia POV...**

I quickly follow Percy into the dark hallway as the sound of scuffling echoed far ahead. Moments later, Percy then takes off the cap of his pen... and a three foot long glowing bronze sword popped out!

"What the heck?!" I exclaim incredulously, coming to a stop.

Percy whips around at my voice, his eyes wide at the side of me, I stare at him and his sword, continuously glancing between them in shock and confusion.

"Where- what- where did that sword come from?!" I demand.

"What are you doing following me?!" he instead asks.

"Dr. Thorn was shoving my friends out, and I find you following them! Why do you have a sword?!" I shoot back.

"Look, go back to the gym, it's not safe for you to follow me!" he hisses.

"No, I'm following you!" I reply firmly. "I'm making sure my friends are going to be ok, and then I want answers!"

"There's nothing you can do!" he retorts. "It's too dangerous, and you don't know what you're dealing with! Go find Grover or something!"

Instead of listening I march right past him, making sure to give his sword a wide berth. He voices his protest, but upon seeing that I wasn't going to change my direction he sighs irritably and follows, putting himself back in front.

"Fine, but you do what I say from here on out," he declares.

"If you say so," I reply in exasperation. "And you're giving me answers!"

"Fine, just later okay?" he says.

We both jog down the corridor, only to find no one else there. Moving quickly, Percy opens the door and enters the main entrance hallway of the school. On the other side of the room, Bianca and Nico were both standing there, frozen together with eyes wide in fear.

"Bianca! Nico!" I exclaim in relief, rushing up to them. I give them a quick hug and then look Bianca in the eyes. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"L-Lydia?" Bianca stammers nervously, still looking past me.

"Percy, can you please do whatever thing you did and put the sword a-" I start to say.

I turn around with an exasperated look in Percy's direction, only to freeze in terror. Percy was approaching us, his sword still held up and glowing faintly, but it isn't him I'm looking at. Behind him is Dr. Thorn, but he was slowly slinking towards us like some sort of horror film, a devilish grin on his face. It was really dark, but I could just barely make out something rising from his back behind him...

"P-Percy..." I stammer weakly.

"Hey, it's alright," he says, not realizing what we were looking at. "My name's Percy. I'm going to take you guys out of here, get you somewhere safe."

I shakily raise a finger to point behind him, and too late does he realize what we were looking at. Percy whips around in an attempt to defend himself, but before he could do much, the slinky thing behind Dr. Thorn lashes forwards. Immediately, a foot-long black colored dagger shoots out and rips through his shirt and coat, sending him hurtling against the wall and pinning him there. I let out a surprised and fearful yelp from the action and Percy slashes his sword instinctively in response, but he slices through nothing.

"Yes, Perseus Jackson," he states. "I know who you are."

Dr. Thorn lets out a cold and menacing laugh, stepping closer and into the light that Percy's sword gave off.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym. I hate middle and high school dances," he says casually, sounding pleased.

Percy tries to slash his sword again with a grunt, but is not close enough to reach him. Another spike is launched from whatever was behind Dr. Thorn to strike an inch from my face, causing me and Bianca to both yelp in fear.

"All four of you will come with me. Quietly, obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw," he threatens dangerously.

"What the heck are you?" I ask with a nervous whisper.

"You will soon find out Elton," he says with disgust. "Now start walking!"

Dr. Thorn rips the spike pinning Percy out of the wall, and shoves him forwards. He shoves me next, and shepherds Bianca and Nico along as well. The two of them were shaking slightly in their fear, and I wasn't doing much better. A minute ago I was hanging out at our school dance, and now I'm being shuffled along by some deranged maniac, along with Bianca and Nico and some kid with a freaking sword!

Speaking of which, Percy closes his eyes and stops moving for a moment, prompting Dr. Thorn to shove him forwards.

"What are you doing Jackson? Keep moving!" he snaps angrily.

"It's my shoulder," he moans. "It burns."

I look at him weakly but with some concern, and Dr. Thorn scoffs at his response.

"Bah! My poison causes pain, it will not kill you. Walk!" he orders.

Poison?! I suppose the lack of killing is a plus, but I still don't fancy the idea of pain, and if I get impaled by one of those things? Game over! Dr. Thorn marches us outside and heads in the direction of the woods. He directs us through the old path that was framed by old-fashioned lamp posts and deeper into the forest.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn tells us. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demands. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!" he snaps

"Don't talk to my sister that way," Nico shoots back.

I'm surprised that he mustered the courage to say that, but at the same time I'm proud of him for it. However, Dr. Thorn's response to his comment is a hair-standing growl, which makes me shiver with fear. That... that can't be human! What is he?! Eventually we reach the clearing next to the cliff edge, where the cold harsh sea awaits hundreds of feet below. With it being dark out I couldn't see anything, not to mention it was really cold. I shiver from the cold, as well as from the fear of Dr. Thorn, and my fear of the dark.

"Halt," Dr. Thorn orders us.

He shoves us all towards the edge and when Percy stumbles I reach out a catch him, and Percy mutters a 'thanks' in response.

"What is he?" I whisper uneasily. "How do we fight him?"

This strange and terrifying encounter is bringing up memories of my dad's murder, but if it comes to it I'm not going to back down and cower. I'm the oldest here, not to mention my dad was in the military and taught me a few things about fighting, although admittedly not too much.

"I'm working on it," he murmurs back to me.

"I'm scared," Nico mumbles, fiddling with one of his toy soldiers. Bianca holds him closer.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn snaps irritably. "Face me!"

We turn around to stare at him, and I can't help but shiver at the sight of his hungry looking eyes, glaring at us.

"You could at least be nice," I manage to say.

"Shut up," he scoffs angrily, his eyes glittering. He reaches down into his jacket and then pulls out some sort of phone, lifting it to his head. "The package: it is ready to deliver."

A garbled reply responds to him through the phone, and Percy takes the moment to glance behind him at the ocean. Dr. Thorn notices and laughs mockingly at him.

"By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself!" he says with a grin.

I look at Percy in confusion and bewilderment by what he was called. Son of Poseidon? As in the Greek sea god?

"What did he call you?" Bianca mutters.

"I'll explain later," he replies.

"You do have a plan right?" I ask him warily.

Percy continues to glance at the ocean, but then whips his gaze back to Dr. Thorn when he speaks.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," he says casually, almost taunting. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

The strange thing from behind Dr. Thorn whips forwards, and another spike whistles by, just barely nicking Percy in the ear. The way it moved... it almost seemed like some sort of tail. I flinch in response to the spike being thrown.

"Unfortunately, you are wanted alive, it possible," he continues, sounding disappointed. "Otherwise you would already be dead."

"I'm starting to think that you actually were fighting someone on TV with a sword," I murmur to Percy.

Before he could respond to me, another spike whips by to barely slice my ear, and I yelp in pain from the slice.

"Silence!" he snaps.

"What's your problem with me, and the rest of us?" I shoot back angrily. "Who would want us? Because if you think you'll get a ransom for some other criminal or terrorist group or- or something, you're wrong! My father was killed, and I'm not connected to the military!"

"And Nico and I…" Bianca adds, faltering slightly. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn says in mock sympathy. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand new family."

"Luke," Percy says. "You work for Luke."

Dr. Thorn's mouth morphs into one of distaste when he says that name. "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson."

"Who's Luke?" I ask Percy.

"I will let the General enlighten you," Dr. Thorn continues. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" Percy asks in confusion, before realizing the French accent. "I mean… who's the General?"

Thorn looks toward the horizon, a smile crossing his face. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

Looking back, I could spot some sort of searchlight over the sea, along with the sound of helicopter blades.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico asks.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army!" Dr. Thorn. "Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—" Nico retorts.

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn says dangerously. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" Percy asks.

"The stirring of monsters," Dr. Thorn smiles sinisterly at us. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispers to me. "He's completely nuts."

"I'm starting to think he's been having a little bit too much," I comment, glancing at Percy's pen. "I still don't understand the weird sword thing though..."

"We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly. "Into the sea."

"What?" I ask incredulously. "Are you insane too? That's a hundred foot- OOF!"

In the middle of my sentence, some strange invisible force suddenly slams against all four of us, sending us tumbling to the ground. A moment later several spikes go soaring by where we once were, and the blonde girl Annabeth suddenly appears, a cap falling off of her head. I widen my eyes in surprise and confusion at how she appeared as if she were invisible, but then Grover and the punk girl Thalia charged out of the woods as well!

In her possession was a spear, and some sort of shield. I don't know why, but the moment I laid eyes on the shield I cringed away, faltering as terror overcame me, and unless I was seeing things Dr. Thorn also cringed from it. I quickly shake off the confusing and strange bit of fear I felt and watch in a state of shock as she levels her spear at Dr. Thorn.

"For Zeus!" she cries out.

Umm... what?

She jabs her spear for his head, but Dr. Thorn bats it aside, before he suddenly morphs his hand into a large orange, lion's paw! He slashes at her, striking across the shield, sending Thalia rolling backwards. He then flips forwards some sort of tail that he also has, and several more spikes launch towards her. She deflects them away with her shield, but the impact sends her sprawling across the ground.

"What the heck?!" I exclaim in shock.

"What is going on?" Bianca asks nervously.

"I don't know," I reply dumbly. However I instinctively stay in front of the younger di Angelo's, wary and afraid of... whatever Dr. Thorn is.

Grover then raises some kind of instrument to his mouth and begins to play a song. At first I thought it was ridiculous to play a song when crazy stuff was happening in front of us, but then even more crazy stuff happens, when thick vines spring out of the ground to wrap around Dr. Thorn's legs to tangle him up.

"Grover...?" I murmur in disbelief.

Dr. Thorn then lets out a furious... non-human roar, and then begins to morph into a different creature. His body grows and changes to become that of a large lion, with a leathery, spiky tail filled with thorns. The weirdest part was that his human face was still attached to where the lion's head should be. I gasp in fear and back away even further, while Annabeth and Percy get to their feet.

"A manticore!" Annabeth exclaims.

"What?" I ask in confusion and bewilderment. "Who the heck are you people?!"

"And what is that?!" Bianca demands, pointing at the snarling creature.

Nico gasps in a mixture of awe and fear. "A manticore? He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

Despite the situation, I can't help but glance at Nico incredulously. "Seriously? Mythomagic?"

"Get down!" Annabeth suddenly shouts, charging for us.

She shoves all three of us to the ground as the... manticore, fires another volley of huge spikes, some of which impact Percy's shield, denting it. Wait, where did he get a shield from?! Grover then skids across the ground beside us with a pained yelp, and the manticore snarls at us.

"Yield!"

"Never!" Thalia yells.

She charges forwards with her spear again, but at that point the helicopter from earlier shines its spotlights on the cliff side, blinding her. The manticore takes the opportunity to smack her with his tail, and sends her flying. Her equipment is scattered in various directions, and her spear lands beside me.

"No!" Percy shouts in alarm.

As he charges forwards to protect her from the manticore, I glance between them and Thalia's spear, swiftly coming to a decision. Grabbing the spear, I charge towards the manticore, while Annabeth reaches out in an attempt to stop me.

"No, wait!" she says in alarm.

"Now do you see how hopeless it is?" Dr. Thorn chuckles, towering above Percy and Thalia. "Yield little- AGH!"

I don't give him a chance to finish his sentence before I plunge the spear against his side. He howls in agony before whipping around to face me, a murderous, seething glare on his face. He yanks the spear away to throw it against the ground and snarls, while I widen my eyes in alarm.

"Oh s-"

Dr. Thorn then brings one of his paws forwards and slams it against my abdomen, slamming me to the ground. I gasp in sheer pain as the breath is knocked from my lungs, and he pins me down with a heavy paw on my chest.

"How dare you!" he seethes furiously.

"Lydia!" Bianca cries out in horror.

I stare up at Dr. Thorn with a terrified gaze as he raises his other paw, claws gleaming, in order to slice my throat. Before he could do so, the sound of some sort of horn blowing through the woods makes him falter, and he looks around in surprise, now seeming afraid himself.

"No... it cannot be-" he starts to say.

Before he could finish his sentence, something silver streaks out of the woods and slams against his shoulder, revealing it to be a silver arrow. He howls in agony and staggers away, releasing me in the process.

"Curse you!" he cries.

He flips his tail forwards to shoot a large volley of spikes into the woods, but a volley of silver arrows retaliate, actually slicing through the spikes! I scoot away from Dr. Thorn while he yanks the arrow from his shoulder with a pained howl. Percy attempts to attack him with his sword, but Dr. Thorn moves out of the way and slams him aside with a swipe of his tail.

Moments later, a whole group of about a dozen young girls charges out of the woods, all armed with bows. They were all wearing a similar style of silver parkas and jeans, fierce and determined expressions on their faces. The oldest of the group was younger than me!

"The Hunters!" Annabeth says happily.

"The who now?" I ask.

"Oh wonderful," Thalia grumbles.

One of the older archers steps forwards, obviously the leader of the group. She seems tall and graceful, but unlike the other girls in her group, she wore a silver circlet in her long hair. Definitely the leader.

"Permission to kill, my lady?" she suddenly asks.

Or... not?

"This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws!" Dr. Thorn protests.

"Not so," another girl says, stepping forwards.

She's younger than the one with the circlet, but didn't look any less deadly, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. The strangest thing about her is that her eyes appear to be colored a bright, silvery-yellow, almost exactly like the color of the moon.

"The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast," she states, glancing at the circlet girl. "Zoe, permission granted."

Wait, so she's the leader? How does that work?

The manticore then growls furiously. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead! And this girl dies first!"

Dr. Thorn turns towards me, and I widen my eyes in terror as he lunges forwards with a roar.

"No!" Annabeth yells, charging at him.

"Get back, half-blood!" Zoe shouts. "Get out of the line of fire!"

Annabeth ignores her order and jumps onto the manticore's back, plunging a knife into his neck. He howls in pain and halts his charge for me, spinning around and thrashing his tail in an attempt to throw her off. However she somehow manages to remain on top of the manticore.

"Fire!" Zoe orders.

"No!" Percy screams.

"But you'll shoot her!" I protest as well.

The group of girls let their arrows fly towards the manticore, catching him in the neck and chest. He staggers backwards with another howl of pain, and growls at the girls.

"This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!" he roars.

Before anyone can react, Dr. Thorn turns and leaps off the cliff ledge and down into the darkness... with Annabeth still hanging onto his back.

"Annabeth!" Percy yells in horror.

Moments later the helicopter finally moves into action, and starts shooting at us with a machine gun on its side. The girls all scatter as the bullets pepper the ground around them, but the young girl from before with silver eyes just watches the helicopter with an impassive expression.

"Mortals, are not allowed to witness my hunt," she announces.

She then thrusts out her hand, and I stare in complete shock as the helicopter dissolves into black dust to become a flock of black birds: either ravens or crows, which scatter off into the night with squawks. The girls then start advancing towards us, and I get back to my feet, backing away warily.

The girl with the circlet, Zoe, steps forwards, before stopping at the sight of Thalia.

"You," she says, obviously not pleased.

"Zoe Nightshade," Thalia replies angrily. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoe sniffs in distaste before turning a critical eye on us. I shift on my feet nervously as her gaze lingers on me for a moment, eyes narrowing, before she looks away.

"Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady," she reports.

"Yes," the girl says. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Who's campers?" I ask in confusion.

"Annabeth!" Percy yells. "You have to let us save her!"

"I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help," the girl replies.

Percy tries to get to his feet, but two of the girls hold him back down. He struggles furiously, but they still keep him down.

"What are you guys doing?" I ask, a little confused and annoyed as to why they're holding him down.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," one of the girls tells him, completely ignoring me.

"Let me go!" Percy demands. "Who do you think you are?"

Zoe growls, stepping forwards with a dangerous look in her eyes. I move to stop her, finding this whole thing to be ridiculous, when the younger girl speaks up.

"No," the other girl orders. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."

She then levels her gaze on Percy.

"I am Artemis," she says. "Goddess of the Hunt."

...uhhh, what?

* * *

 _Fun chapter? Not too different from the book, but as time goes on events will play out a little differently with the inclusion of another character._

 _Hope I'm able to write something enjoyable for you guys! :)_


	3. I Talk To a 12 Year Old Goddess

_**Author's Note:** I think I forgot to mention that this story begins in December, in the year 2007. :O_

* * *

 **[ REVIEWS ]**

 **Shaniverse fan1:** _Very interesting theories... and she is powerful. That mystery however will be solved in time. ;)_

 **Guest:** _Funny idea!_

 **cousinxcaps:** _You're in the right type of category, that's for sure!_

* * *

 **Lydia POV...**

These past few minutes I've seen some really absurd crap. My Vice Principle turned into a lion creature, Percy pulled out a glowing sword, a bunch of young girls fought the lion with bows, etc. But now this young girl... is saying that she's Artemis? As in the Greek goddess? That's just impossible!

Right?

"Um… okay," Percy replies dumbly.

My vocal reaction for sure.

Grover then gasps in a way I've never seen him do before, and immediately gets to his feet, kneeling and bowing before 'Artemis.' I glance at Bianca and Nico, the former looking at me in just as much confusion, wariness, and fear.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!" he says in pure joy and awe.

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snaps. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Whoa," Bianca interrupts. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looks at her, and I stand beside her and Nico in response. Bianca points her finger at each and everyone of them individually, with a suspicious gaze.

"Who… who are you people?" she asks.

"And what the heck just happened?" I add warily.

'Artemis,' looks at us with a seemingly gentle expression. "It might be a better question, my dear girls, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glances at Nico, who was staring at Artemis in awe, before looking at me. I look at her helplessly, but move to answer for the group.

All of our parents are dead," I answer for them. "We're orphans, but I'm not related to Bianca and Nico. My dad used to be in the military, so that got me some influence in sending me here..."

I falter in my answer as they all look at me with disbelieving gazes, even Grover!

"What's wrong?" I ask uneasily. "What I'm saying is true. My dad was in the military-"

"You are a half-blood," Zoe interrupts firmly. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian… athlete?" Bianca asks.

"No," she replies. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" Nico exclaims excitedly.

"No!" Bianca's retorts, her voice quavering. "This is not cool!"

"How- how could one of our parents be a god? That's just a myth!" I protest, although after what I've just seen I have no idea what to believe anymore.

"Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage?" Nico asks eagerly, dancing on his feet with a grin. "Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca snaps, holding her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

"Bianca it's alright, we'll figure this out," I tell her softly, turning to face the group. "Seriously, that just can't be possible!

"Lyida, Bianca, I know it's hard to believe," Thalia says, a sympathetic look in her eyes. "But the gods are still around, trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," I note, feeling a little protective of the di Angelos and glancing at the cliff ledge. "Like how Annabeth fell?"

Thalia falters before looking away with a sense of grief, and I swallow nervously.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis says sadly. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asks.

"She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished," she replies firmly.

"Oo!" Nico exclaims, raising his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis replies. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

The memory of my dad's murder suddenly comes to my mind, and I freeze up nervously, remembering the sight of those two big thugs... each with only one eye. If this really is real, then my dad was murdered by... a cyclops?

"That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?" Bianca says.

"And that bus driver," Nico says. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"And when my... my dad..." I whisper before faltering, the loss still hurting me. "He tried to fight off two thugs that had only one eye... and they killed him"

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy says. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"So you're a demigod Grover?" I ask, pushing past my grief for my dad and looking at him incredulously.

"Well, a satyr, actually," he corrects sheepishly.

He then kicks his shoes off, and I widen my eyes in shock at the sight of hooves in the place of feet. Bianca wasn't fairing any better."

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia says. "You're freaking them out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!" Grover protests.

"B-but you have hooves!" I say incredulously, switching my gaze between his face and hooves.

"Bianca, Lydia," Percy says, getting our attention. "We came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" I ask in confusion. "Like a military camp?"

"Camp Half-Blood," he corrects me. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" Nico exclaims eagerly.

"Wait," Bianca says, shaking her head. "I don't—"

"There is another option," Zoe says, heavily suggesting something.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia snap instantly.

The two instantly start glaring at each other with venom, and I don't know what their deal was but they obviously have some history with each other. I try to step forward and get them to calm down, hoping to resort to politeness.

"Hey, Thalia, Zoe, why not calm down? If there's something to talk about maybe we could discuss it politely-" I suggest.

"No offense Lydia, but from hat I've heard, you're really nice," Thalia interrupts irritably. "But you're way too nice, which is a problem!"

I falter in my step, feeling a little confused and slightly hurt before sighing, stepping back.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis says calmly. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady," she replies, breaking off from the glaring contest.

"Lydia, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with the both of you," she adds.

"What for?" I ask cautiously.

"There's something special about the two of you," she comments, gazing at me intently for a moment, and I shuffle nervously. "Especially you."

"What about me?" Nico asks curiously.

Artemis looks at him with a considering gaze before turning towards Grover. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"

Grover nods eagerly, practically tripping over himself in a way that he only does when he catches a whiff of enchiladas. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Me and Bianca look at each other before following after Artemis along the cliff. The Hunters immediately begin setting up a makeshift camp with seven silver colored tents, completing it within a matter of minutes. While we were walking, Artemis wasn't saying anything, so we had no idea what to say in response. Bianca and I share a look with each other, and she simply shrugs helplessly. Finally, I decided to break the ice with my own attempt.

"So uh... you're actually a goddess?" I ask lamely.

"Indeed I am Lydia," she replies with a smile. "Did you expect something different?"

"Uhh... I don't, know?" I reply.

"It's alright," she says with a chuckle. "The both of you are new to this whole experience."

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Bianca asks.

"First I wish to talk to you Bianca," she replies. "Then I wish to speak with Lydia."

"Separately?" I ask cautiously.

She nods in confirmation, stopping before a silver tent near the edge of the camp. One of the hunters steps out of the tent and offers Artemis a bow, to which she smiles at in reply, and then walks away. Bianca and I share an uneasy glance before she turns to face us, looking at Bianca and gesturing into the tent.

"Please come in Bianca," she invites.

"Go on. I think we're good here," I tell Bianca gently.

"Alright," she replies.

She takes a deep breathe to steel her nerves and then looks forwards determinedly, entering the silver tent. Artemis follows after her, leaving me alone outside. I look around and cross my arms, hugging myself to try and stay a little bit warmer. I hear the soft padding of footsteps and then let out startled yelp upon seeing a white wolf walking by. It looks up at me with a curious look, wagging its tail. I hesitantly reach out to pet its head, and the wolf purrs happily in response. I manage a small smile and continue stroking the wolf's fur.

"Come on boy, come on," one of the hunters says, suddenly appearing nearby.

I pull my arm away in surprise, and the wolf looks over at the hunter before scampering away. She watches it go before turning to me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." I try to apologize.

"It's perfectly alright," she replies. "You must be cold out. Here."

She hands me a silver colored ski parka, and I take it with a muttered thanks, quickly putting it on. I exhale in relief upon feeling the warmth the jacket provided, no longer feeling as cold.

"You're, Lydia right?" she asks.

"Yeah, that's me," I reply with a nod. "How about you?"

"Phoebe," she answers.

"Cool," I comment, unsure of what to say.

"To be summoned by Lady Artemis is no meager thing," she says. "You and Bianca must be very special."

I make a face, uneasy at the idea of being 'special,' especially now that Greek gods are supposed to actually be a thing now. As well as the monsters. Doesn't feel very reassuring to me.

"I don't know if that's a good thing," I admit nervously.

"It depends," she answers. "But we saw you charging that manticore all alone, and with no training. That's a very brave thing of you to do."

"I wouldn't say brave. More like terrified and stupid," I reply sheepishly. "Percy was a lot braver in my opinion."

"Nonsense," she scoffs in response. "What you did was much more remarkable than what the boy did."

"I don't know if I'd be willing to save Thalia's life the way he did," I disagree.

She frowns, crossing her arms in obvious disagreement of my statement, and I raise an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Do you two not like each other or something?"

"Hardly, we've never met before," she replies dismissively. "No, it's just that he's a boy."

"What's wrong with boys?" I ask with a frown.

"As the Hunters of Artemis we don't associate with males," she says.

"But what if you want to get married? Have kids?" I ask.

"Then you can no longer be a Hunter, since we are maidens. It is the most important rule in being one," she states, and makes a face. "Not to mention that males are often foolish, annoying, and selfish."

"Now that's just mean. You can't generalize all boys like that," I argue in disagreement.

"It's simply what they are," she shrugs in reply. "We are perfectly happy with each other as sisters."

I look at her in a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment, and just simply let out a tired sigh. Artemis seems nice, but if that's the mindset that the hunters live on, my curiosity of becoming a hunter just vanished right there. I certainly think they're cool, but I'd have to disagree heavily with them. No offense to the hunters, but their beliefs about boys seem kind of dumb, and sexist. Sure, there definitely are crappy guys and cruel, evil men out there, but that's rare. My dad was the best person ever, and he was not any of those things.

Although I suppose Artemis isn't known as the maiden goddess simply for nothing.

"Alright, fair enough," I tell her. It's not for me to judge or pester her for how she wants to live her life.

Just then the tent flap opens up, and Bianca walks out. She glances at me, but before she could say anything Artemis steps out as well.

"Lydia? Please come in," she says, and then looks over. "Phoebe, could you have Zoe bring Percy Jackson over in a few minutes?"

"Of course my lady," she replies with a bow, and then heads off to do so.

I share a glance with Bianca as I walk past her, and she smiles encouragingly at me. I offer a small grin back to her, and Artemis gestures inside of the tent, holding the flaps open.

I walk inside, immediately hit with the comfortable warmth, which was a much welcome relief compared to the cold of the night. I then blink in surprise at the sight that greeted me. Looking around, I notice that the floor is covered with silk rugs and pillows, a golden brazier sitting in the center burning with a smokeless fire. Different sorts of animal pelts all hang from the walls of the tent, and on a polished oak display stand in the back sat a silvery bow. Most likely Artemis's bow.

By the time I look down Artemis is already sitting across from me, with a deer just lying beside her, head in her lap. I look at her in bewilderment for a moment at how she moved so fast, and she gestures for me to sit on the ground, which I hastily do so.

"So, Lydia Elton, is it?" she asks.

"Yes ma'am," I answer politely, respectfully.

"There's no need for a young woman such as yourself to show such formality in my presence," she tells me with a soft smile.

"Oh... ok, sorry," I apologize. "That's just how I was raised by my dad."

"I see," she replies with a nod. "Tell me Lydia, how do you feel about all of this right now?"

"Well... nervous, I guess. Afraid, and a little worried," I admit.

"You're worried about your friends?" she deduces.

"Yeah," I reply with a nod. "I don't want to see them get hurt."

"As do we all when it comes to the wellbeing of those close to us," she states with a nod. "I suppose that worry is what prompted you into attacking the manticore?"

"I think so. everything happened so fast, and I saw that they were in danger, so I just did my best to try and protect them," I tell her.

"And you did well, despite having no combat training," she replies.

"Actually, I do have a little bit of knowledge," I correct her sheepishly. "My dad was in the military, and he taught me a small amount of self-defense."

"Really?" she remarks in surprise. "Well, that is quite interesting, but no less a good thing to hear."

"Thanks," I reply.

"Now, I've already spoken to Bianca about the encounter with the manticore, and some of what he's said to you," she starts off. "However, that's not why I asked to speak to you."

"Then what is?" I ask in confusion.

"There's something special about you Lydia," she says seriously. "Your aura feels like that of one of my brother's children, yet it is not the same, and it cannot be the same."

"What do you mean?"

"If your father was your godly parent, then I would suspect you to be a child of Apollo, my brother," she explains. "However that is clearly not the case, and your aura radiates far greater than what his children could hope to reach."

"So my mother is a... a goddess?" I ask, and she nods her head. "Do you know who it is?"

"I'm afraid not," she replies, shaking her head. "That answer will have to wait until your mother claims you. Then we shall know the answer."

"Claim me?" I ask warily.

"As her child, yes," she confirms.

"When will that happen?"

"Only your mother knows."

I sigh sadly, looking down. "That's stupid."

"I cannot help you to know who your mother is, but I can heed you with a warning. For whatever reason, the power gifted to you from your mother can rival that of even children of the Big Three gods," she explains. "As such, monsters and beast will be far more attracted to your scent. Even my father Zeus will be suspicious of you."

"What? Why?" I ask in alarm.

"Children of the Big Three are powerful, yet also dangerous. As such, they made a pact not to have any children many years ago," she explains.

"But isn't Percy a son of Poseidon?" I point out.

"Poseidon broke his promise in having a child. Admittedly, my father did as well," she replies, sounding both exasperated, amused, and annoyed all at the same time. "Ironically enough, Hades is the only one who actually did keep the promise."

"That's kinda stupid," I snicker quietly in amusement.

A boom of thunder suddenly echoes, and for whatever reason this makes me flinch in a small amount of fright. Usually I'm never scared of thunderstorms. Weirder still is that Artemis shoots me a serious look of disapproval.

"Be careful of how you speak Lydia. The King of the Gods doesn't take kindly to offense," she warns me.

I swallow nervously and glance upwards, taking heed of the threat. I don't think I really wanna risk angering freaking Zeus of all people today... or ever, really.

"Noted," I reply meekly.

* * *

After Artemis's warning towards me about my power attracting monsters, and making the gods suspicious of me, particularly Zeus, she called Bianca is to sit with us. Moments later, Percy also walks into the tent, followed by Zoe. He looks around at the tent, his gaze resting on Artemis while Zoe sits down on her right.

"Join us, Percy Jackson," Artemis says.

He sits down beside me on my right, giving me a glance. I shrug back at her, and Artemis turns her gaze onto Percy, causing him to shift uncomfortably.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she suddenly asks.

"Uh… a little," he admits.

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer," she informs us. "This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" he asks in confusion.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves," she states.

"Oh."

He nods dumbly in response, and I notice Zoe send a distasteful glare his way, making me sigh in exasperation. It's kind of absurd now to be honest, although the goddess does take notice of Zoe's glare.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," she tells Percy. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…"

She falters, and then looks over at Zoe. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoe says. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah, yes," she nods in satisfaction.

"Wait, what?" I ask in bewilderment.

"I enjoy making jackalopes," she continues casually. "At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the… disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."

Percy nods in understanding, and tells his version of events about Dr. Thorn. Once he's done, Artemis looks concerned and worried, putting a thoughtful hand on her silver bow.

"I feared this was the answer," she says grimly.

Zoe sits forward, suddenly alarmed. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes," she answers.

"What scent?" Percy asks.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmurs. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten. We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, 'I hate middle school dances,'" he replies, and I smack my forehead in exasperation.

"I don;t think that's what she means," I tell him.

"Oh, yeah you're probably right," he replies in agreement, a little embarrassed. "He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."

Zoe's face suddenly pales in a mixture of horror and fear. She turns to Artemis and attempts to say something, but Artemis raises a hand to quiet her, staring intently at Percy.

"Go on, Percy."

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—"

"Stirring," Bianca corrects, and I roll my eyes. Not really the brightest one huh.

"Yeah," he says with a nod. "And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"

After he says that, Artemis goes absolutely still, but her face is also completely blank and unreadable. Seeing her reaction, Percy quickly tries to offer an amending statement.

"Maybe he was lying," he offers.

"No. He was not," she disagrees, shaking her head. "I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

"We will leave right away, my lady," Zoe says, much to my concern. Despite her firm tone of voice, she very clearly does not seem ok, judging by how she still appears stiff and afraid, her facial expression saying it all.

"No, Zoe. I must do this alone," Artemis tells her calmly

"But, Artemis—"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters," she interrupts. "You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"But what if that warrior shows up again?" she asks.

"Warrior?" I repeat dumbly. Bianca and Percy both shrug in response.

"I do not believe he is a danger to us. We sought him out, not the other way around," she tells Zoe firmly. "But wherever he is now, he means us no ill will. I must go on the search alone."

Zoe appears reluctant, and obviously disagrees, but gives in with a sigh. "As… as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vows firmly. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

"You know what the monster is?" Percy asks.

Artemis grips her bow tightly. "Let us pray I am wrong."

"Can goddesses pray?" he asks in response.

I raise an eyebrow at him, looking over at Artemis.

"Now that would be interesting to know," I add.

A small smile of amusement flickers across her face as she glances at us, before facing Percy. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you."

"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?" he asks uneasily.

"Sadly, no," she answers, and I make a face. "I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

"What?" Zoe blurts out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"

"Yes, I know," she replies offhandedly. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoe mutters something about foolish campers, and I still don't know how to feel about what Camp Half-Blood will be like.

"And now there is one last decision to make," Artemis says.

She turns to face Bianca, much to my confusion. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

"Make up your mind abut what?" I ask in confusion.

"I'm still thinking about it," Bianca says hesitantly, glancing up at me uneasily.

"Wait," Percy says. "Thinking about what?"

"They… they've invited me to join the Hunt," she reveals.

I widen my eyes in shock, looking at her incredulously. "What?! Why?"

"You can't!" Percy adds in protest. "You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."

"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoe retorts.

"Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and…" Percy trails off. "I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"

"To begin with, immortality," Zoe says.

Percy and I both gape at her, before turning to Artemis.

"She's kidding, right?" he asks.

"Zoe rarely kids about anything," Artemis says. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" I ask uneasily.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," she replies. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?" Percy asks, and she nods. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you, then?" he interrupts.

"That is not thy concern, boy," Zoe snaps furiously, glaring at him. "The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"Bianca, you can't seriously be thinking about this," I try to reason. "What about Nico? He needs you. He's only ten years old! I highly doubt they'll let him join!"

Bianca glances up at me nervously, guilt flashing through her eyes at the reminder of Nico.

"Certainly not," Artemis agrees. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

"Hey!" Percy protests.

"You can see him from time to time," she continues, talking to Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeats dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you can't do this," Percy says. "It's nuts."

"Bianca please, you can't seriously be thinking about leaving Nico! What about me too? We both want you with us!" I protest, feeling a little heartbroken, and tears threaten to come from my eyes.

She only stares at me apologetically, before looking at Zoe questioningly. "Is it worth it?"

"It is," Zoe replies without any hesitation.

"What do I have to do?" she asks.

My heart falls miserably upon seeing that she's going through with this crazy idea, no matter what I say.

"Say this," Zoe says, "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"I… I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis," she repeats.

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt," Bianca repeats, and then glances up at her. "That's it?"

"If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding," Zoe tells her.

"I accept it," Artemis says.

The flames in the brazier brighten with a silvery glow, lighting up the tent a little more. Bianca doesn't look any different, but I notice her standing up straight, and take a deep breathe, a small smile coming to her face. I look down dejectedly, realizing that she's now one of the Hunters of Artemis. I just can't believe that she'd be so willing to leave Nico behind, after all they've been through. And for what? Immortality? Fancy bow shooting skills?

"I... feel stronger," she says.

"Welcome, sister," Zoe says proudly.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis tells her. "It is now your life."

I look down dejectedly, realizing that she's now one of the Hunters of Artemis. I just can't believe that she'd be so willing to leave Nico behind, after all they've been through. And for what? Immortality? Fancy bow shooting skills? Sure, it sounds promising, especially the immortality, but she's giving up the only remaining family she las left, in favor of joining a group of girls she's barely met! I blink away the tears from my eyes, feeling miserable, sad, angry, and heartbroken.

"Do not despair, Lydia Elton and Percy Jackson," Artemis tells us. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there. He will still have you to be with Lydia."

"Fine," I mutter bitterly. "Just fine.

"Yeah, that's great," Percy adds irritably. "How are we supposed to get there?"

In response, Artemis closes her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoe grimaces in annoyance and distaste at the idea, but she nods and moves to leave the tent, calling Bianca after her. On the way out, she pauses and looks at me apologetically, guilt flashing through her eyes. I glance away from her bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Lydia. But I want this. I really, really do," she says sincerely.

I don't answer, still feeling heartbroken and a small sense of betrayal. Me and Percy are left alone in the silver tent with Artemis, who I now have mixed feelings about. She seems kind and wise, but her way of life and her dumb Hunters already tore one of my friends away from me, not to mention away from her little brother. How is that any fair? It's stupid!

"So," Percy says glumly, breaking the silence. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"

Artemis's silver eyes gleam, whether in annoyance or amusement, I don't care.

"Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother," she states, and my fists clench angrily, before I force myself to relax. "It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."

I don't care how irresponsible Artemis claims Apollo, I already know I'm going to prefer him over the maiden goddess. If for nothing else than just to spite her and the Hunters.

* * *

 _Kind of depressing moment for Lydia. Now she's bitter at the Hunters of Artemis. :(_

 _I'd like to say I got the characters written down right! Phoebe has a big distrust of men, so I feel that conversation fits her character. And Lydia is there to refute their ideas._

 _Hope you guys enjoyed! :D_


	4. Flying On a God's Magic Sun Bus

**[ REVIEWS ]**

 **Shaniverse fan1:** _Glad you enjoy it, and I'm excited to write more! Definitely will be an interesting encounter with Apollo._

 **I-lander's Mask:** _I feel the same. The Hunters aren't really nice to other people when it comes down to it, and can often come off as kind of snobby and 'brattish.' And Lydia definitely isn't into that, especially since Bianca just up and left, and they're prejudiced against men._

 **Guest:** _Yeah this'll certainly be an interesting encounter!_

 **Snowstorm:** _Glad you enjoy it so far. For this first bit during_ The Titan's Curse, _it'll still be relatively the same plot line, but things will gradually get more different as the story goes on. I'm planning on not having this be just a simple rehash of the books! :D_

* * *

 **Lydia POV...**

After our discussion with Artemis, Percy and I were waiting outside in the cold snow as the Hunters broke down camp. The idea of meeting Apollo, the sun god seemed really outlandish, but at this point I think I'd be able to accept anything. It's pretty clear to me now that Greek mythology exists. Artemis seemed to have some distaste at he mention of her twin brother, and I could tell none of the Hunters were looking forward to meeting him.

That just makes me even more excited.

Speaking of the Hunters, I have to admit they do know their stuff when it comes to setting up and taking down a campsite. They worked with quick efficiency, having the camp broken down as fast as they put it up, leaving no trace behind. I've been on camping trips before with my dad, but even we couldn't do it that fast.

While they were doing so, Artemis was just standing at the edge of the cliff, looking out at the horizon. And as for Bianca... she was currently telling Nico about her decision to join the Hunters. From the look on his face he was not pleased at all, and I can't blame him one bit.

"I hate this weather," I mutter to Percy, holding my arms and shivering. "Is she sure that Apollo is coming?"

"I don't know, but she's probably right in that he's coming," he replies. "Even if there's still no sign of dawn."

"I don't like her," I grumble quietly.

"Well, we all have our 'least favorite' gods and goddesses," he replies with a shrug.

"You sound like you have experience," I notice, even through the shivering.

"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if half of them want me dead," he deadpans.

"W-what?" I ask incredulously.

Before he could answer, Grover and Thalia both showed up beside us, and started asking about our visit with Artemis. I decided to let go of Percy's ridiculous 'bounty' and listen in as he explained the situation. Once he did, Grover went pale, which meant he was scared.

"The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well," he says uneasily.

"Why? Is Queen sourpuss unable to handle the presence of such 'foolish demigods?'" I ask sarcastically.

Thalia snorts with laughter at my comment, and I notice Zoe nearby looking over and glaring at me. I make a face at her in response, and she scowls, turning away.

"How'd they even show up here?" Percy asks. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."

"And Bianca joined them," Thalia adds in disgust, a feeling I heartily agree with. "It's all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, no good—"

"Who can blame her?" Grover says dreamily, heaving a sigh. "Eternity with Artemis?"

"Eh- Seriously Grover?" I ask dryly.

"You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis," Thalia says in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so… into nature," Grover swoons.

"Yeah, she's into nature. Not people. Don't forget the fact that you're a dude, and she hates dudes," I point out.

"Exactly!" Thalia adds in agreement.

"You just gotta get to know her..." Grover trails off.

"You're nuts," she states.

"Nuts and berries," Grover replies dreamily, barely paying attention. "Yeah..."

"Well, at least the new girl and I have something we agree on," Thalia says, looking at me pleasantly. I smile back at her, when I notice a bright light in the sky.

"Hey, you see that?" I ask.

"See what?" Thalia replies.

"That bright light in the sky," I tell them, pointing up at it.

"I don't see anything," Percy says in confusion.

"It's my brother," Artemis interjects.

I frown in confusion, unsure of why the others can't see the glowing speck of light, which is growing larger and brighter. Soon, the sky begins to lighten up to, much like in the way dawn comes in the early morning. Along with this brightening sky, comes a comforting sense of warmth.

The cold and darkness is washed away from me he brighter the sky gets, and I allow myself a sigh of relief, feeling comforted and empowered at the feeling of the sun's light. Looking back up at the sky, I can definitely see a golden object approaching us clearly now.

"About time. He's soooo lazy during the winter," Artemis says, muttering to herself.

"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" Percy asks warily.

"For my brother. Yes," she replies.

"Seriously, none of you can see it?" I ask them incredulously.

"See what? The brightening of the sky?" Thalia asks.

"They do not share the gift of your godly parent Lydia," Artemis states.

I frown at her statement, mulling it over. I guess it does make some sense, if my mother really is a Greek goddess with power over the sun, or light, or whatever. Wasn't that Apollo though? I guess there is... Helios, maybe? But he's a guy... I'm really drawing a blank here. Whoever it is, it does make sense considering what I felt when the sky began to lighten up.

"It's not exactly as you think," Artemis suddenly says, directing her words to Percy.

I'm confused, but apparently Percy isn't. "Oh, okay. So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a—"

The glowing object flares much brighter in the sky, growing bigger as it draws closer. Narrowing my eyes at it, I make out what seems to be a... a car?

"Don't look," Artemis advises. "Not until he parks."

Huh, the sun god drives a car.

I don't feel any reason to avert my eyes, as while it is definitely bright, it isn't unbearable for me. I've never had too much trouble looking up at the sun, although of course I don't do it for too long, because I'm not an idiot. Still, all it is, is a glowing car shooting straight for us.

"Elton, don't look!" Artemis urges.

I glance over at her in confusion, and then look back as the car comes in for a landing. The snow is instantly melted away at the approach of the glowing car, and it parked on the now green grass. The car was a ridiculously fancy sports convertible, a red Maserati Spyder I believe. The metal of the car was also glowing brightly, and the snow around it was melted in a perfect circle. The unmistakable feeling of warmth flowed around me, a lot more welcoming than the coldness of the wintery night.

"That wasn't too bad," I remark, looking back at Artemis.

She narrows her eyes at me, appearing irritated, before dropping the expression to stare back at the car with an impassive expression. I blink in confusion, before noticing all of the rest of the kids beginning to look up again after having averted their gaze. Does something bad happen if you look at it? Either Artemis would be lying, or I'm special because it's related to the sun.

Also did I just one-up the freaking goddess of the hunt?

Score!

The driver of the car gets out, a dazzling smile on his face. He looks about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing jeans, loafers, and a sleeveless T-shirt. His entire presence just screams a warm sun, and I raise my eyebrows at the look of him as he swaggers out of the car, his blond hair almost glowing.

"Wow," Thalia mutters. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," Percy points out obliviously.

"I don't think that's what she meant," I tell him.

"Little sister!" Apollo calls out, smiling widely. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

"I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister," Artemis sighs.

"Hey, I was born first," he retorts.

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—" she begins to argue.

"So what's up?" he interrupts uncaringly, and I hold back a snicker. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

"I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood," she replies, going no-nonsense.

"Sure, sis!" he says happily, and then raises his hands up. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groan in response, and I glance over at Thalia in amusement.

"This should be good," I mutter, and she nods in agreement.

"Green grass breaks through snow. Artemis pleads for my help. I am so cool," Apollo recites dramatically, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis states.

"Was it?" he asks with a frown.

"Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"

"No, no, that's six syllables," he replies in disagreement. "Hmm."

Zoe then turns to us, looking quite aggravated.

"Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, There once was a goddess from Sparta—"

"I've got it!" Apollo announces. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!"

He bows, looking very pleased with himself. I smile in amusement and nod my head at him.

"That wasn't bad," I remark.

"Why thank you!" he exclaims cheerfully. "Glad to see someone enjoys my work!"

"'Not bad...?'" Zoe mutters in distaste.

"And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say?" Apollo asks pleasantly. "Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis says, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" he says happily, looking at us curiously. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushes in response, averting her eyes in a way that makes me roll my own in amusement.

"Hi, Lord Apollo," she greets meekly.

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees," he starts to ramble. "Man, I remember one time—"

"Brother," Artemis says in exasperation. "You should get going."

"Oh, right," he says in response, looking over at Percy. "Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah. I mean… yes, sir," Percy replies.

Apollo studies Percy for a few moments with narrowed eyes, and I could tell that he was obviously uneasy with the stare. Then he shifted his dazzling smile over to me, and I suddenly found myself the center of the god's attention.

"And who's the pretty girl with a proper sense of music?" he asks.

"Umm... Lydia, sir. Lydia Elton," I tell him.

Should I bow or something? I guess not, considering no one else is bowing. Plus, Apollo doesn't seem like the kind of god to care about that. Speaking of which, he studies me thoughtfully for a few moments, his eyes gleaming.

"Wow, you sure feel as wonderful as the sun kiddo," he remarks. "I'd say you could be one of mine!"

"Uhh..." I start to say, unsure of how to react. I guess that's a compliment?

"Brother, this girl is not 'one of yours.' Her father was mortal, and her mother was godly," Artemis says with an exasperated sigh of annoyance.

"Oh," Apollo remarks, sounding surprised, saddened, and confused.

He then narrows his gaze on me, and I shift uncomfortably for a moment. He apparently notices something, because his face morphs a little to one of surprise.

"Oh..." he mutters, as if realizing something huge.

Within moments however, the moment passes, and he instantly returns to his 'happy-quirky' personality, smiling up at everyone.

"Well! We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it!" he states cheerfully.

I look over at the Maserati sports car, which would seat only two people max. It's a nice car, but the problem is we can't all exactly fit. There were about twenty of us.

"Cool car," Nico says.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo replies happily.

"But how will we all fit?" he asks.

"Oh," Apollo says, seeming to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He takes out his car keys and a button on them. Once he does that, the car begins to glow brightly again, which doesn't really affect me too bad. When the glare dies, the car is replaced with a large bus, with plenty of room for us all.

"Right," he comments, gesturing to the bus. "Everybody in."

The Hunters begin loading up, and after Zoe picks up her own bag to do so, Apollo approaches her with a grin on his face.

"Here, sweetheart. Let me get that," he offers.

The affect is instantaneous. Zoe recoils from him in absolute disgust and repulsion, her eyes flashing with murderous intent. Artemis doesn't seem to pleased either from the way she's narrowing her eyes at him.

"Brother, you do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart," she states fiercely, and I roll my eyes.

Apollo spreads his hands in apology, not looking to sorry. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," she replies briskly. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all," he retorts confidently.

"Kinda hard to argue with that when he drives the fricking sun," I remark quietly, and Apollo grins at me.

"Just drop them off, Apollo," Artemis says in aggravation. "And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never mess around!" he replies innocently.

Artemis rolls her eyes, and then looks over at us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

"Yes, my lady," she replies, straightening up.

Artemis kneels down and touches the ground for a few moments, probably looking for tracks. What sort of tracks I don't know, but it's probably some godly stuff or whatever.

"So much danger. The beast must be found," she says gravely. She sprints into the woods moments later, seemingly vanishing.

"If that was a quote from a book or a movie, that would feel cringeworthy," I remark dryly to Thalia.

"She never knew how to lighten up," Apollo remarks.

I jump in surprise at how he suddenly appeared in between me and Thalia, an arm around my shoulders and a smile on his face. I let out a sigh, and he backs up while Thalia rolls her eyes in exasperation.

Apollo grins at us, jingling his keys from his finger. "So, who wants to drive?"

Thalia, Grover, Percy and I all look at each other in surprise, uneasy at the thought of driving a god's sunlight bus.

"Are most God's usually this lax?" I ask them quietly.

"No. Usually they try to kill you," Percy mutters back.

"Oh, wonderful," I reply with a sigh.

"Can I drive?" Nico asks, coming up next to me.

"No way sir, you're way too young," I reply firmly, and he pouts in response. "I doubt Apollo would allow it."

"Oh come on, I'm sure he'd agree!" he insists.

"Nope," I state.

With the bus ready, we all get into the bus and choose our seats. The Hunters all pile as far back into the bus as possible, as far as they can be from Apollo. Bianca goes with them, which makes me frown bitterly at how readily she leaves Nico behind for a group of girls she's barely known for less than an hour. Still, he doesn't seem to mind too much, so I sit with him instead. However, he wanted to try and drive, and rushed over to the driver's seat.

"This is so cool!" Nico says, jumping up and down in the driver's seat while rambling off a bunch of questions. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo replies in explanation. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asks curiously. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"

Apollo chuckles, ruffling Nico's hair.

"That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun… er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

The whole time Apollo rambled on with his explanation, the rest of us stared at him dumbly, sharing looks with each other, to which Percy just shrugged.

"No," Nico tells Apollo.

"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car," he offers.

"Can I drive?" he asks hopefully.

"No. Too young," he replies instantly.

"Ha! Told you!" I say triumphantly, and he pouts, getting out of the driver's seat.

"Oo! Oo!" Grover exclaims, raising his hand.

"Mm, no. Too furry," he replies.

He instantly looks past Percy, and I get the feeling there's a reason for why. His gaze then settles on me and Thalia, and his eyes light up in excitement.

"Daughter of Zeus! Lord of the sky," he says happily. "Or the daughter of... someone who enjoys the sun! Perfect."

"Oh, no. No, thanks," Thalia instantly replies, shaking her head uneasily.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I ask cautiously.

"C'mon," Apollo urges. "How old are you?"

"I don't know," Thalia replies meekly, hesitating a little bit.

"You don't?" I ask, furrowing a confused brow.

"It's complicated..." Percy says quietly.

Apollo hums thoughtfully, tapping a finger against his chin. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."

"How do you know that?" she asks.

"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week," he says casually.

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second," Thalia says.

"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!" he says happily.

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo states. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say," she replies with a frown.

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky!" he says, laughing good-naturedly.

The rest of us weren't laughing, and Thalia was still very adamant about not driving.

"I really don't think I should be doing this," she says, pleadingly, as if she was afraid.

Apollo grumbles in aggravation, shaking his head.

"Fine fine. Maybe someone who actually likes the sun will be better," he remarks, looking over at me. "LYDIA!"

I jump in surprise at his shout, and look up at him meekly.

"Uh, yes... sir?" I ask hesitantly.

"Would you like to drive?" he asks cheerfully.

"Uhh, I don't know..." I trail off.

"Oh come on sweetheart, don't back out of this like the sparky girl! Get up here!" he insists quickly.

I'm still hesitant, unsure if I should be doing this, but I can tell he's definitely not gonna be taking a no after Thalia's rejection. Lucky me. Getting up hesitantly, I warily move over to the driver's seat of the bus and sit down, looking up at him nervously.

"I don't have a driver's license," I try to say.

"Nonsense, you're sixteen you got this!" he scoffs in disagreement. "Now take it away! With you being a sun demigod, you're gonna be a natural!"

"Ok..." I mutter to myself.

I grip the steering wheel tightly, looking over the controls with a wary gaze. So far they seemed to be the same as any other regular car but... how exactly am I supposed to direction it in the air? Apollo flips a button, allowing a sign to come up with a bing.

I could imagine it says something like 'student driver' or whatever.

"Speed equals heat," he tells me. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Nodding my head, I take a deep breath and then pull up on the steering wheel. The bus instantly shoots upwards into the air, shoving me against the seat. I hear a little bit of tumbling behind me, probably from people hitting each other as well.

"Ow," Grover says

"Sorry," Percy replies.

"Slower!" Apollo tells me.

"Sorry! My mistake!" I apologize uneasily. "I've got it under control!"

I uneasily steer the bus into the air, wobbling a little with the wheel, but otherwise doing my best to maintain control. Glancing out the window, I notice suddenly how much altitude we've gained and widened my eyes in surprise, forgetting the fact that I'm driving still.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo directs me. "Hang a left."

Shaking my head, I quickly move to follow his order, but accidentally turn to the right a little bit too hard. I hear a few startled yelp from behind me and realize that I accidentally threw some of them into each other.

"The other left," he sighs.

I glance back in concern at hearing the others getting thrown around, and notice Thalia instantly. She's stiff as a board, her face nearly chalk-white in terror, making me feel really worried and guilty. Is she afraid of heights or something? While mulling over my concern for her I once again forget the fact that I'm driving what is apparently the freaking sun.

"Ah…" Apollo says, sounding a little uneasy. "A little lower, sweetheart, alright? Cape Cod is freezing over."

I once again remember that I'm flying the bus, and whip my direction back to the road, cursing myself for losing focus of what I should be doing. If my dad were here to see this, he wouldn't be impressed. Well, if he could get past the fact that I'm flying a god's sun car. I quickly tilt the car back down towards the ground, taking us back through the cloud cover. Once we enter the clouds I glance around uneasily, unable to see anything beyond the clouds.

"Uhh, Apollo?"

"Hmm?"

I can't see anything," I tell him.

"No worries, just keep on going—WOAH!"

I look forwards and also let out a startled and fearful yelp at the sight before me. A New England town is really fast approaching, and a lot of the snow is instantly melting off of different places as we get closer. A church steeple, previously white, turns brown and starts t smoke and smolder, while the rooftops and trees were beginning to catch fire. Behind me, I think Thalia let out a shrill scream of fear.

"Pull up!" Percy yells.

"I got it!"

I instantly yank up on the steering wheel right before crashing into the ground at about a thousand miles per hour, and shoot straight into the air and over a large lake.

"There! Long Island, dead ahead!" Apollo says, pointing out the window. "Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."

"I swear I feel like Ms. Frizzle," I grumble to myself. "Only less insane."

I fly us over toward the coastline of northern Long Island. Out the window I notice an array of sights scattered across the area, which I assume to be Camp Half-Blood. I can see the woods and the beach of course, but also what looks to be a greek-styled dining pavilion, cabins a most definitely greek amphitheater.

"We're not gonna crash.. we're not gonna crash..." I hear Thalia mutter quietly to herself.

"Brake," Apollo says, once we're a few hundred yards away.

I press my foot down on the brake, yelping when I accidentally press down to hard and cause the bus to lurch forwards. We crash into the water, causing a bunch of steam to sizzle up from the surface of the lake in a massive cloud. What looks to be mermaids or whatever scatter away from us, and I sit there silently and absolutely still as the bus floats in the water.

"What the heck did I just do..." I trail off dumbly.

"Well, let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?" Apollo asks with a cheery smile.

If this is an average day for a 'half-blood,' then I don't even want to know what the hard days are like.

* * *

 _Well, apparently Apollo has taken a special liking to Lydia! Things will get much more interesting from now on, that I can assure you!_


	5. I Meet the Camp Directors

_**Camp Half Blood, Long Island - New York**_

 **Lydia POV...**

I didn't know what to expect when reaching Camp Half Blood, But at first glance it didn't seem too special. Snow lightly covered everything, including a large field and some sort of track. Several buildings were covered with snow as well.

However, that's when the strange things started to make themselves apparent. What I first thought to be Christmas lights were actually little floating balls of fire. Some sort of flame seemed to be flickering in the top window of the large blue house, which I guess isn't too weird. There is a climbing wall as well… with lava pouring out of it.

"This is Camp Half Blood?" I ask, climbing off the bus.

"Yeah. What do you think?" Percy asks.

"Uh…" I trail off, unsure of what to say.

"Whoa," Nico says in awe, climbing off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," Percy replies.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

"Little extra challenge," he explains.

"Little?!" I exclaim incredulously. "But what if someone touches that? Their skin will be melted off at best! Or they'll die at worst!"

"Don't worry, everything here is made with maximum safety," he states, and I can't tell if he's being extremely sarcastic, or is really exasperated. "Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," Zoe interrupts stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"Rude much?" I mutter to myself.

"I'll show you the way," Grover offers.

"We know the way," she replies.

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't—" he starts, before tripping clumsily over a canoe. He still comes up talking however. "—like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

I make a face at Grover's eagerness to go with the Hunters, but decide not to comment. As the Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins, Bianca comes over to me and Nico.

"I'm gonna he staying with the Hunters now, so take care of yourselves you guys. I'll… be seeing you?" she whispers, offering a smile.

I frown at her in disappointment and hurt while Nico turns away from her with a scowl, crossing his arms. I cross my own arms and glance to the side, still bitter and irritated with Bianca over how easily she chose these Hunters over her brother and I.

"Yeah, sure," I mutter.

Bianca's smile falls, and she looks down sadly before shouldering her new backpack, trudging off after the Hunters.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo calls after the Hunters, and then winks at Percy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"What do you mean?"

He then shifts his focus over to me, that dazzling bright smile still his face.

"Good luck with the camp new girl! High hopes for you!" he says, hopping on the bus. "Later, Thalia! And, uh, be good!"

He gives her a wicked smile, as if he knows something, and then shuts the doors. The engine revs loudly, and I watch as the bus glows extremely bright, reverting into the red Maserati and then blasts off into the air. The warmth and glow of his 'sun' car once again seems to give me a burst of energy, making me feel empowered and relaxed. I watch as the car flies away, glowing bright until it disappears in a ray of sunshine, the sky now bright as if it were early morning.

"How did you look at that?" Thalia asks.

I look at her in confusion, shrugging. "Was I not supposed to…?"

"Mortals usually can't look upon a god's true powers without getting killed," she says, eyeing me strangely.

I blink in surprise, looking back at the sky before returning my gaze to her.

"Uh… maybe I'm special?" I offer helplessly.

"Artemis did mention your godly parent," she murmurs with a frown, before looking away.

I don't know what to think, but I return my focus to Nico when I notice he's still a little irritated.

"Nico… I'm sure Bianca will come around eventually," I try to say, despite not really believing the words myself.

"Why would she? She's rather prance around with the rude princess," he grumbles.

I sigh sadly, sharing his sentiment. "Yeah. I don't get why she would choose them over us, over you, instead. It's not right."

Nico glances down at my words before looking over at Percy.

"Who's Chiron?" he asks. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," he replies. "He's… well, you'll see."

"If those Hunter girls don't like him, that's good enough for me," Nico grumbles. "Let's go."

He and Thalia lead the two of us through the camp, and I keep hold of Nico's hand. He grips it back tightly, taking comfort in my presence since I'm a lot more familiar and safe in his eyes. Normally he would stay close to Bianca but, obviously I have to fill in her role now. Which is irritating, not because I don't like Nico, because it should be her holding his hand, not me.

As we walk through the camp I try to ignore thoughts of Bianca and the Hunters for now as I get a look at where we'll be staying for the time being. Despite the size of the camp, with plenty of buildings and space, it seems pretty empty and quiet here. Judging by the size of the place I would expect a lot more people.

"Didn't think a haven for demigods would be so empty," I comment, feeling uneasy about the implication that could imply.

Apparently, Thalia could pick up on the thoughts running through my head.

"Oh this is normal right now. Most campers usually just come during the summer. There are a few year-rounders, who stay because it's too dangerous outside of camp, or they have nowhere else to," she explains.

Hearing her explanation I glance down at Nico for a moment, and then look up to observe the camp. I guess that would make me a year-round camper then...

Like Thalia said there are a few people still here, although not very many. Some big, strong looking guy was messing around with a forge outside of what looked to be an armory. Two kids, definitely brothers, were attempting to break into some sort of store.

I would've pointed out the obvious wrongdoing, but judging how Percy and Thalia didn't spare them a second glance I realize that's probably their regular behavior.

There are also a small pack of tough, mean looking kids that are having a snowball fight with a pack of girls, who look like they're made of nature itself, skin seemingly green, and hair appearing like leaves.

Eventually we come to our destination, the large blue house, which is decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warm the porch, yet miraculously don't seem to be setting anything on fire. It does feel a little vibrant though, and the air smelling like hot chocolate is an added bonus. When we move inside the house I take notice of flames crackling in a fireplace. Two men are sitting sitting in the parlor, playing a card game. One man is middle-aged and chubby, with curly black hair, his expression looking rather unpleasant and uncaring. The other man is sitting in a wheelchair, although he looks handsome with a well trimmed beard and brown hair reaching to his shoulders. He was wearing a fuzzy sweater with a hoof print design on it, along with a blanket that nearly covers his wheelchair.

He looks up at our entrance and smiles warmly. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

"Lydia Elton and Nico di Angelo," Percy interrupts. "Lydia and Nico are half-bloods, as well as Nico's sister."

"You succeeded, then," he breathes out in relief.

"Well…" Percy falters uneasily, and I give him a sympathetic look.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his smile dropping. "And where is Annabeth?"

"Oh, dear," the other man says with a heaving sigh, sounding uncaring. "Not another one lost."

I frown at him for the insensitivity, while also unable to take him serious with the crap he was wearing. A neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit with purple running shoes, and a golden laurel wreath tilted sideways in his curly black hair.

"Really dude? That's a little insensitive, their friend could be dead!" I comment in displeasure.

Percy and Thalia whip their heads at me in alarm, while the wheelchair guy looks at the other man with a worried expression. Said man in question looks over at me with an angry glare, purple flames burning in his eyes, and I suddenly feel nervous at his gaze.

"You have something to say child?" he says coldly.

Just then, Grover walks happily into the room with a crazy grin on his face, and the sudden tension vanishes much to my relief. The man looks away with an irritated expression, and I get the feeling that I shouldn't test him. Instead, I turn my direction to Grover, only to widen my eyes in shock at his appearance.

"The Hunters are all moved in!" he declares.

He has a black eye, along with red lines on his face that look suspiciously like a slap mark. And a painful one at that.

"Oh my gosh! Grover! What did they do to you?!" I exclaim.

"Huh? Nothing. I'm fine Lydia!" he replies happily.

"You're fi-" I stutter in disbelief. "They hurt you! Oh that tears it!"

Usually I like to pride myself on being composed, polite, and respectful to anyone I come across. I'll admit I'm a little ashamed that I'm letting these Hunters get under my skin so much, but quite frankly I don't care right now. They hurt my friend despite him innocently offering help, so I'm gonna let them know how much that infuriates me. Does Bianca not care anymore to the point she's willing to disregard Grover being hurt?!

I move to storm out of the house and find those prissy girls, only for Thalia to stop me with a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Lydia, just let it go," she sighs.

"Seriously?" I demand.

"Feisty one huh?" the chubby man comments.

"It's not worth it. Besides, you won't do anything other than get yourself hurt," Thalia replies.

"My Dad was in the military, so I know how to fight!" I retort.

"Zoe has fought and killed countless monsters for several millennia," she says in reply, much to my surprise. "Believe me, I'd like nothing for than to punch that smug face off of her, but this is a fight you won't win, and she won't change."

I take in her words for a few moments, calming down upon realizing that she's right. Sighing, I turn around and cross my arms, looking down at the ground glumly.

"So, the Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about," the disabled man says, looking at me and Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our new friends to the den and show them our orientation film."

"But…" Grover starts, before nodding. "Oh, right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asks curiously. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"

"Screw what Bianca says, we just fought a demonic cat monster," I interrupt.

"It's PG-13," Grover confirms.

"Cool!" Nico replies happily.

We both follow Grover out of the room, and I decide to take this as an opportunity to talk some sense into Grover. Those Hunters are nothing but trouble, and they're going to keep abusing him no matter how much he tries to help them.

"Grover, we need to talk…" I start off.

* * *

 **3rd person POV…**

Once the three are gone, Chiron focuses back on Percy and Thalia.

"Now, perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story," he says.

The pair glance at each other before sitting down in chairs, and launch into the story. Once they're finished, a troubled frown of concern crosses Chiron's face, and he turns to Mr. D.

"We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately," he states.

"I'll go," Thalia and Percy both say instantly.

"Certainly not!" Mr. D sniffs in reply.

Thalia and Percy both start to protest, but Mr. D holds up his hand to silence them. His eyes were burning with purplish fire, giving them a clear warning to quiet down.

"From what you have told me, we have broken even on this escapade," he says. "We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—"

"Annabeth," Percy snaps angrily.

"Yes, yes," he replies dismissively. "And you procured a small annoying boy, along with a feisty disrespectful girl to replace her. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."

Percy fumes at Mr. D's words, seething with silent fury while Thalia doesn't dare much better, though is more controlled. Chiron quickly steps in to prevent anything from escalating, attempting to sound positive.

"Annabeth may be alive. I still highly recommend starting a search for her," he suggests. "If necessary, we could seek help from Diana."

"Oh please, how do you expect her to help with the search?" Mr. D says doubtfully.

"Who?" Percy asks.

"Zeus's girl," he scoffs in reply.

Percy thinks for a moment before whirling on Thalia. "You have a sister!"

"No!" she replies instantly, glancing to the side. "I mean, yeah, technically, but she's not my sister. Besides, she's also a god… Or, half god? Maybe a minor god is more appropriate. I don't know."

"Still, she's limited by a physical form. She won't be any more help than Peter Johnson here," Mr. D states dismissively.

"Percy Jackson," he corrects irritably.

"Whatever."

"If you say so Dionysus," Chiron replies, obviously in heavy disagreement, yet not bothering to argue. "In any case, Annabeth is very bright. If… if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

"That's right," Thalia says in agreement. "Luke would want her alive."

"In which case," Mr. D says. "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."

Furious, Percy gets up from his seat and glares at the wine god.

"Percy..." Chiron says warningly, but he was too angry to care.

"You're glad to lose another camper," he accuses. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!"

Mr. D stifles a yawn. "You have a point?"

"Yeah! Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk!" he growls. "This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!"

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light of the fire reflects in Mr. D's eyes, making him look sinister, dark, and dangerously powerful. He opens his mouth in preparation to say something, before is once again as the door opens.

* * *

 **Lydia POV...**

As we re-enter the Big House, I ready myself for the nerd freak out that Nico is about to have. Honestly I'm quite surprised as well, and really confused: like, how does Chiron fit into a tiny wheelchair if he has a horse body? And what the heck would an Olympian god be doing in a camp, running it no less?

I guess it makes sense, having a god oversee a camp made for demigods, but at the same time, it doesn't. At least I know to steer clear of Mr. D and not upset him. I definitely don't want to be blasted into a dolphin or something like that.

"SO COOL!" Nico yells, and I flinch. Nico holds his hands out to Chiron with a wide smile on his face. "You're… you're a centaur!"

"Sorry for his, uh, crazy excitement," I apologize sheepishly.

"It's perfectly fine Ms. Elton, and yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please," Chiron replies nervously. "Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

"And, whoa!" Nico exclaims, whirling around You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr. D turns his looks at Nico loathingly, and I take a cautious step closer, feeling protective in case the god lashes out.

"The wine dude?" he says coldly.

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine!" Nico says eagerly.

"My figurine," he deadpans.

"Nico…" I murmur to him in warning, but he's unable to help himself.

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"Ah." Mr. D remarks, seemingly perplexed. "Well, that's… gratifying."

I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that the danger swept by. Probably because of Nico's fascination of Mr. D's powers, which he complimented. Love of flattery is an 'almighty god' stereotype that he definitely fits.

"Percy," Chiron says. "You and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Capture the flag?" he asks. "But we don't have enough—"

"It is a tradition," Chiron says. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah," Thalia mutters. "I bet it's real friendly."

"Capture the flag?" I ask with a furrowed brow, before looking at hem uneasily. "Wait… don't tell me it's with weapons."

"It's with weapons," she confirms.

"Great," I groan.

Chiron glances over to look at Mr. D, who's still frowning as Nico now talks about how many defense points all the gods have in his game. I watch him for a moment with an exasperated expression, unsure of what to do.

"Run along now," Chiron says.

"Oh, right," Thalia replies. "Come on, Percy."

She grabs his arm and pulls him out of the Big House before he could say whatever he wanted to say.

"You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia says, her voice fading. "You need another immortal enemy?"

"Ares?" I ask in bewilderment. "Ares doesn't like Percy?"

"Nope, and neither do I," Mr. D comments, ignoring Nico.

I resist the urge to tell him that he doesn't seem to like anyone.

"Grover, why don't you take Nico here and show him to his cabin?" Chiron asks.

"Oh, sure," Grover comments with a shrug. "Come on you guys!"

I move to follow Nico and Grover, but Chiron stops me. "Not you Lydia."

"Huh?" I ask, and the other two look over in confusion as well.

"I'd like to talk to you for a moment if you don't mind," he replies with a smile. It's a request, but it's more of the type that a parent gives, expecting you to do it.

"Oh… ok," I reply uneasily, turning to Nico. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Ok," he replies with a smile.

Once he and Grover are gone, I move around to sit down in a chair, fiddling with my hands while Chiron and Dionysus observe me, the latter more just looking bored and irritated.

"So… what do you want to talk about?" I ask.

"From what I can tell, you are different Lydia. Different from the average demigod, and stronger," Chiron starts.

"Wonderful," Dionysus sighs.

"For now I just want to get to know you better, and see if we can understand what makes you special," Chiron says with a smile, ignoring the wine god.

"Everyone keeps saying that kind of stuff," I reply with a confused look. "I don't get how you can know if I don't even know the difference."

"Getting a sense of your power is easy for immortal beings like us," Dionysus says carelessly. "It's easy to sense your power, and you must be another one of Apollo's."

"Actually, sir, my mom was the god," I carefully correct him. "Artemis and Apollo already figured that out."

"What?" he asks irritably. "That's ridiculous. Your powers are like the sun. You are a child of Apollo."

"But like she said, Artemis and Apollo already confirmed she's not," Chiron replies. "And if her father is indeed mortal, then clearly her power stems from a goddess."

"Huh," Dionysus mutters, frowning. "I can't think of anyone else having sun powers… unless Apollo decided to become a woman without telling us. He does seem very feminine…"

As he rambles on about random stuff, Chiron turns back to me.

"So Artemis and Apollo spoke to you then already?" he asks.

"Yeah, she said my, 'aura' or whatever, was a lot stronger than one of Apollo's," I tell him. "Even rivaling kids of the Big Three."

"Artemis told you this?" Chiron asks in surprise. "That your power rivals children of the Big Three, such as Percy and Thalia?"

"Nonsense," Dionysus scoffs. "No god has children stronger than them."

"If Artemis says so…" Chiron tells him, before looking back at me. "Tell me everything that she told you."

"That's pretty much it, to be honest," I tell him. "That, and monsters will be more attracted to me; even Zeus would get suspicious."

"Don't throw around names girl," Dionysus scolds me, a lot more serious instead of dismissive.

I nod my head uneasily. "Sorry…"

"Either way, Artemis is correct in her warning. With power that great monsters will be much more attuned to your scent, which will make your life even more dangerous I'm afraid," Chiron says grimly.

"Great," I say quietly, nervous at what that could mean for me. "What is all this 'power' stuff anyways? Aside from sunlight feeling great, and being able to look at Apollo's car I'm just a regular person."

"What do you mean, 'look at' Apollo's car?" Chiron asks.

"Apparently it doesn't kill me or whatever when he parks and leaves, like Thalia said it should," I shrug. "Artemis told me to look away, but it didn't bother me when he landed."

Chiron and even Dionysus are silent, sharing bewildered and confused looks with each other.

"You saw… the Sun Chariot of Apollo in its true form?" Chiron asks slowly, and I shrug.

"Perhaps we should test that?" Dionysus suggests.

"No, absolutely not!" Chiron exclaims in reply. "She May have been able to view Apollo's chariot, but I'm willing to bet that was only possible because of her connection to the sun. Anything else and the result would be death, just like it always has."

"Yeah, I'd prefer not to die," I say meekly, turning a little pale.

"Only a suggestion," Dionysus drawls, rolling his eyes.

Chiron shakes his head. "At any rate, this is very surprising to hear. Not even children of the Big Three can view power like that without harm. Clearly your mother is an extremely powerful goddess."

"Do you know who she could be?" I ask hopefully. It's doubtful if Artemis, a goddess, didn't know, but one could always hope.

"I'm afraid no definite answer will come until you are claimed," he replies regretfully.

"This is getting really annoying," I mutter in disappointment.

"I'm sorry things are so hard for you right now," Chiron says apologetically. "For now though, it's time to show you to your new cabin."

* * *

 _Hello guys, long time no see! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. And for that little mention of a certain someone, I'll let you know it's just her. No Justice League, no superheroes, just Diana._

 _And yeah that does seem confusing considering Ares is obviously very much alive. I have a generic explanation, and will explain it later in the story, but it's not that important._

 _Wonder Woman in the Percy Jackson universe is so cool an idea, yet no one has ever really done it, so I thought why not?_


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